Emails show information withheld in MEDSTAR shutdown

Investigator Karla Ray requested a year's worth of emails sent to County Manager Karen Hawes regarding MEDSTAR, and found administrators initially withheld information from the public about the reason for the shutdown.

On August 21, the day of the shutdown, EMS Administrators told the public the reason was to seek voluntary accreditation. Three weeks later, County Manager Karen Hawes told the Lee County Commission it was because pilots weren't yet certified and alluded to personnel issues.

NBC2 asked her that day, September 11, why EMS Administrators claimed the shutdown was about national accreditation instead of saying there were internal issues.

"There were issues, well, what we were trying to do was get accreditation," Hawes replied that day.

The day after that interview, on September 12, Hawes was sent an email from a public relations firm suggesting how she should respond to questions about the reason for the shutdown, detailing how information was originally withheld from the public.

"The initial media release focused solely on the overall goal and not sensitive personnel issues that were escalating..." the email read, "Upon resolution of personnel issues additional information was released to the public which detailed more of the reasons..." the recommended response continued.

Further review of Hawes' emails shows she was warned about personnel issues by at least one EMS employee.

"The issue at hand here is the fear and intimidation culture EMS Administration insists on having," EMS employee Dan Ceresa said in the September 25 Commission meeting.

Ceresa emailed Karen Hawes back in June, saying "There are definitely problems at MEDSTAR. Most of it hinges with the relationship between employees and management." Hawes did not reply.

"I don't think they were ever given a full picture of what was going on, I think they were given half truths at best. Outright lies in a lot of cases," Ceresa said about the County Manager's office.

Hawes responded to our questions about the emails, saying "The accreditation was a goal to help us establish safety benchmarks, it was not a reason for the suspension..." and that "the decision was made in the best interests of citizens."

Hawes also told us her office has since talked to Ceresa and that they are aware of his concerns.